The Supreme Court has held that admissions made by a party in criminal proceedings can be relied upon in civil proceedings while passing a judgment under Order XII Rule 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), provided such admissions are clear and unequivocal.

A Bench of Justice J. B. Pardiwala and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed a plea filed by a defendant who had challenged concurrent findings of the Trial Court, First Appellate Court, and the High Court directing him to vacate the suit premises.

The case arose from a civil dispute in which the respondent-plaintiff sought a mandatory injunction directing the defendant to vacate the property. During criminal proceedings arising out of an FIR, the defendant had admitted that he was merely functioning as a caretaker of the property owned by the plaintiff. Relying upon this admission, the Trial Court decreed the suit under Order XII Rule 6 CPC and directed the defendant to hand over possession of the property.

The decree was upheld by the Appellate Court as well as the High Court. Before the Supreme Court, the defendant argued that an admission made in criminal proceedings could not form the basis for a decree in a civil suit under Order XII Rule 6 CPC.

The quesiton before the Court was:-

"The entire debate revolves around the question whether the courts-below were justified to decree the suit in favour of the plaintiffs on the strength of the admission made by the petitioner in the course of the criminal proceedings and whether the trial court was justified to pass the final decree based on admission under Order XII Rule 6 CPC." 

Rejecting the contention, the Supreme Court clarified that there is no restriction under the CPC limiting admissions only to pleadings filed in civil proceedings. The Court observed that admissions made “elsewhere” can also be considered if they are clear and unambiguous.

The Bench observed:

“A decree can be passed under Order XII, Rule 6 CPC on the basis of an admission, whether it is contained in the pleadings or elsewhere. Such an admission may be in writing or may even be oral. No particular form of admission is necessary.”

The Court also relied upon the decision in Uttam Singh Duggal & Co. Ltd. vs. United Bank of India and reiterated that the purpose of Order XII Rule 6 CPC is to ensure speedy justice wherever a clear admission entitles a party to relief.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the direction requiring the defendant to vacate the suit property.

Case Title

Sheikh Abedin vs. Iqbal Ahmed & Anr.